My current gig is working on a major newspaper's website. Now that I have access to logs and stuff of a MSM, it is very interesting to see where the traffic comes from—and slashdot doesn't really figure into the mix, even though we've been linked.

The three biggest sources of hits are Drudge, Digg and Fark, in that order, with Drudge being larger than #2 by an order of magnitude.

Least you think this is a small-time site, the whole enchilada gets 6 million hits a month by users, sans bots.

The only time we ever delete comments is if the comment contains malformed HTML that is somehow causing Slashdot to fail to display properly. Comments are not deleted on the basis of content.
[snip]--CmdrTaco

"The only time we ever delete, blah, blah, blah"?I'm going to go with "Um, no."

I updated the flickr, as I took a few shots on the freeway (they're the last three). It looks like everyone who was going, is gone, because there are nearly no cars on the freeway.

Now it's just us chickens left.

This will probably be it for my updates, as one of the SO's clients invited us to stay at her place. If they have internets, then I'll try to post more later (assuming the power stays on, yadda, yadda).

I invited one of my Guitar mates to crash at our place if his
caves in - he lives in a really flimsy place (aluminum roof), so if
the wind blows hard enough, it will probably go. I also spoke with
our next door neighbor to let her know to bang on our door if she
needed anything, but she said she was going to stay with friends in
north Houston.

The SO took me to work in her car this morning, so we can
preserve the gas in the Prius. Since the Prius has nearly a full
tank, we'll use that if we have to go to Austin, San Antonio or
Dallas because it can go father on less. According to some of the
people at work who have friends/relatives who've already left,
Dallas is close to 20 hours away (normally 3 1/2) and San
Antonio/Austin are about 12 each (normally about 3 as well). I
guess most people are going north. Meanwhile, I-10 is a parking lot
(picture).

On the way to work, we stopped at the local grocery store and
they had water bottles coming out the wazoo! We picked up three
cases, so that should take care of the water needs for at least a
week.

Every gas station within a 2 mile radius of home is kaput. We
didn't want to drive around any more and waste gas trying to find
gas, but the SO found an actual operational gas station after she
dropped me off. Yay!

Coming home from work today was weird. All of the traffic out of
town was clogged and just an awful mess. Going in to town
was like there was no one alive. My trip usually takes about 25
minutes, but this time it took under 15. I always get off the
freeway on an earlier exit and then take the side-streets around
the mess (the exit ramp that is closest to me is the worst), but
this time, there was---literally---no cars on the ramp at all.

Later, I passed 7 gas stations on the way back from guitar
practice:

3 of them had long lines, stretching into the street, blocking
traffic. No one seemed out of control, just everyone was trying to
get their gas and go on their way.

4 of them -- all Shell stations -- were sold out. Some had
plastic bags over their pump nozzles, others had some kind of red
plastic placard locked onto the nozzle. Many people kept driving
into these stations, probably because they figured they'd found the
ONE station in all of Houston that didn't have lines, but they
quickly drove on when it was obvious that there was no fuel to be
had.

The banks have all but shut down. A co-worker's husband was
unable to get cash this afternoon. They live on the west side of
town--Katy--where everyone who is leaving to San Antonio or Austin
will pass through.

My SO was able to get cash, though. She told me that the manager
at the branch she went to wasn't letting any teller swap money
(i.e., trading another teller a hundred-dollar bill for four
twenties), so what you got was what you got. By the time she left
the bank, all but one window was closed (the other tellers ran out
of cash). I think all the ATMs are dry as well.

I don't believe you can buy water here, unless you are very
lucky and time your visit to when the delivery truck arrives at the
store. On the way to guitar practice, I stopped by a "high end"
supermarket (Eatzi's) to get a
snack, and I noticed that all their water was gone. This isn't some
cheap old Ozarka or whatever; these waters easily cost more than
$1.50 for a bottle ("designer water").

Here in HooVille, people are paying attention probably more than
usual because of Katrina. I hit the supermarket last night to grab
some stuff to round out our pantry. Wow - almost all of the cans
were gone, and there was not one bottle of water on the shelves. A
clerk brought out a pallette of bottled waters while I was standing
there; I grabbed two cases before the gathering crowd attacked.

My SO reported this AM that the lines for gas are very long. My
car is full, but her's is about 5/8ths full. We'll try topping her
off this evening (hopefully the stations won't run out!)

This afternoon a coworker had to go to Lowes (Home Improvement
store) and reported that they were completely out of generators
(idiot people, where are you going to get gas and an electrician to
hook up your home circuits?).

This is an emergency message from the office of the Mayor of the Cityof Pearland. A very serious hurricane is approaching the area. There isa significant probability that it will impact Pearland. Mayor Tom Reidhas issued a mandatory evacuation for those in flood prone areas andfor those who reside in mobile homes or other non-sturdy structures, andfor those with special transportation needs to leave as soon aspossible. In order to avoid heavily congested traffic conditions and limitedavailable routes, residents are urged to leave prior to 6 p.m. today,Wednesday Sept. 21.

For those in need of transportation, buses will be available at 2:30this afternoon at Jamison Middle School, 2505 Woody Rd. (immediatelynorth of 518 across from Frost National Bank), and Pearland Jr. High East(one block north of 518 on Old Alvin Rd.) Persons who wish to leave butare unable to get to those locations may call 281-652-1953,281-652-1954, or 281-652-1960. For detailed information, go towww.cityofpearland.com.

9/21/05 11:30 a.m.

Well the problem is that the entire "city" of Pearland IS A FLOOD-PRONE AREA!

So, all you who are also in the path, stay safe and dry - don't be the fool this year who kills him/herself by driving into the water on the submerged road.

This is totally outrageous. I mean, just a few weeks ago I was paying $14-15/week.

With my car requiring a fill-up every two weeks, this is going to be a major burden. My gas mileage has sucked a lot because I have to run the A/C all the time (thanks to the 100 degree -- sorry, 115 degree heat indexed weather).

I would consider riding a bike, but there's no way I could pedal the ~ 22 mile one-way distance to work every day (assuming I could take a shower when I got to work), 'cause it would take too long and I have too much stuff to haul (laptop + books + guitar).

Actually, it isn't: Hillary is calling for a $90 million dollar
study of the effects of video games, and she's wrong, wrong, wrong.
(Note: I'm the Alabama Chapter President of the Elect Hillary
'08 to Bust Your Hillbilly Redneck 'Values' Club, so be
warned... I might be biased.)

Of all the games that kids play, which ones require the
most mental exertion? Parents can play this at home: Try a few
rounds of Monopoly or Go Fish with your kids, and see who wins. I
suspect most families will find that it's a relatively even
match. Then sit down and try to play "Halo 2" with the kids.
You'll be lucky if you survive 10 minutes.

The great secret of today's video games that has been lost
in the moral panic over "Grand Theft Auto" is how difficult the
games have become. That difficulty is not merely a question of
hand-eye coordination; most of today's games force kids to
learn complex rule systems, master challenging new
interfaces, follow dozens of shifting variables in real time and
prioritize between multiple objectives. [Emphasis
mine]

If Sen. Clinton wants to investigate a violent activity that
children participate in, Mr. Johnson aptly suggests she go right
for the belly of the beast:

I'd like to draw your attention to another game whose
nonstop violence and hostility has captured the attention of
millions of kids---a game that instills aggressive thoughts in
the minds of its players, some of whom have gone on to commit
real-world acts of violence and sexual assault after
playing.

I'm talking, of course, about high school
football.

Of course, no politician would go gunning for HSFB; in those
tiny-ass towns across the midwest US (I had the unfortunate luck to
live in several over the years), there is no more important event
than the Saturday-night HS Foosball game. Yes, it may be the devil,
but it is their devil, and no Yankee Carpetbagger is gonna
take away their Foosball!

A developer has applied to the city council to get a permit
build a hotel on the site of Justice Souter's home. The
rationale is that a hotel will bring in more funds to the city than
the home currently does.

Souter, if you recall, was one of the staunch supporters of the
ruling that allowed city governments to take over private land and
give it to another private party if the transfer would result in
increased benefit to the government.

Now the best part is that the developer doesn't even have to go
through with it. All he has to do is tear up the home, break ground
and then "run out of funds". (cue Nelson laugh) Ha-haa!